Somehow
by libraryghosts
Summary: Cuddy and Wilson visit House at Mayfeild. House and Cuddy talk about the hallucination. House/Cuddy. This was written about a week after the season 5 finale and I am finally posting. Some OCC-ness. Thanks to JustHuddy & angel 2606 for the beta.


_House_

You wake up one morning and forget where you are. Oh, yeah. Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital.

As you pry your sleep-filled eyes open, they're quickly drawn to the ugly, discolored spots on the ceiling above your bed. Were those there yesterday?

You've been here about a month, you think. But you can't be sure, as every day is the same. And you miss your old life now more then ever. It scares the hell out of you that you can't say exactly when things will be back to the way they were. You can't really say if they'll ever be. You miss your team. You can't believe you could actually miss the stupid bastards that you're not even sure went to med school half the time. You miss Wilson. You miss the piano. The psychiatric hospital has one but it's cheap and terribly out of tune, nothing like yours. And you miss Cuddy. Lisa Cuddy, your boss who you were so sure you had sex with, that you announced it to half of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, only to find that it was a hallucination.

_Cuddy_

You stare own at your newly painted fuchsia toenails, checking for flaws. The chubby, Asian manicurist asks "you like, Lisa?" Yes, you tell her. You sit with your feet under the UV lights and you can feel your anxiety growing like a weed. You're going to the hospital to see House today.

Your cell phone rings and you jump slightly. "Hello?"

"Lisa, it's James."

"Hi."

"I just wanted to confirm: I'm picking you up at two, right?"

"Um, yes. That's right."

"Okay, see you then."

"Bye."

You shut your phone and the all-too-nosy nail technician asks you who it was. You say it was your friend.

"What's she need?"

"It's a man, actually. He just wanted to confirm some plans," you say, and you silently beg her to shut up.

"Oh, your boyfriend?"

"Uh, no, no. Just a friend. From work."

"You're a doctor, he is too?"

"Yep" is your simple response, and you grab a recent copy of _People _magazine, hoping she'll see that you're uncomfortable and stop asking questions.

"So where're you two going?"

"To see a friend. He's um...he's sick right now."

"Oh no, swine flu?" she says with a chuckle.

You try to laugh except you can't. Your throat is parched and even if it wasn't, you still wouldn't find it funny.

_House_

A doctor knocks on your door and says you have two visitors from work coming today. You ask who; Doctor Wilson and Doctor Cuddy, he says. And at the mention of Cuddy's name, you get those horrible cliché-butterflies sensation in your stomach. You're not sure if you're nervous, embarrassed, excited or all of the above. You assume that Cuddy knows about your hallucination, maybe not the details, but that she must have some idea. She must have put the pieces together. Or maybe Wilson told her. Half of you hopes he did, and the other half of you will kill him if he did.

You step out of bed and your bare feet hit the cold, hard floor. You reach for the bedpost and pull yourself up. You strip off your t-shirt and sweat pants and pull on a pair of jeans and a dress shirt.

_Cuddy_

You sit in the passenger seat next to Wilson as the two of you drive to Mayfield in silence. He reaches his hand to the dial on the radio and turns on a jazz station.

"So...what's new? How's Rachel?" he asks awkwardly.

"Uh…she's fine," you reply automatically, your thoughts interrupted. "How is...um...how are you?"

"Fine."

"Um, so House knows we're coming, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh, I...was just wondering."

"This is about his hallucination, isn't it?"

"No! I mean, yes. I mean, I don't know, I just don't know what to say to him."

"Act like you always do! He's gonna be his usual, asshole self. You need to be, too."

"Okay", you say, but you're not completely sure what that means and you're still nervous about seeing him.

_House_

The same doctor knocks on your door and tells you that your guests are here. Your back stiffens and your stomach is in knots all over again. In walks Wilson, Cuddy following close behind. Both of them look as though they've just seen a dead body. Cuddy plays with the buttons on her jacket sleeve and stares at the floor. Wilson looks at you, but neither of you speak.

"Hi House," Wilson finally says.

"Hi Wilson," you say quietly.

Wilson lightly taps Cuddy on the back and she looks up.

"Hello House."

You look around for a moment, embarrassed. You can tell by the way she is acting that she knows. Wilson told her, you're sure. You want to leave the room, but for once, you can't.

"Hi Cuddy", you utter eventually, in a slightly sarcastic tone. You refuse to meet her eyes.

"How are you doing?" Wilson asks sincerely.

"The food sucks, but other than that it's basically non-stop fun," you tell him and Cuddy smiles a little, which you can't understand because she never smiles when you make sarcastic comments. You smile back slightly at her and you finally lock eyes for a second.

_Cuddy_

You listen to Wilson ramble on for a moment about something to do with his practice. You can tell that he has absolutely nothing substantial to talk about and you wonder if there was really any reason to come here at all. He stops talking and glances at you, a fake smile spreading quickly across your face.

"Would you two...like a few moments alone?"

"No," House says quickly.

You shake your head furiously, but Wilson puts his hand on your shoulder and you know that you really should talk to House after all. Wilson walks out, and closes the door behind him softly. Neither of you have any idea what to say; you're both completely embarrassed. After what feels like a decade, you get up the courage to break the painful silence.

"I know about the hallucination."

House just stares at you for a moment, mouth wide.

"Wilson," he says somewhat angrily, and stairs at the ceiling.

"It's not like I couldn't have figured it out on my own," you say with a slight grin.

House returns your smile, but you can tell that he's humiliated. On an impulse, you walk over and sit down in the chair next to him.

"I'm glad I know."

"Yeah, well..." he trails off, not looking at you.

"Don't be embarrassed," you tell him softly, and you reach out to take his warm hands in yours, not fully aware of your own actions.

He chuckles, and you laugh right along with him, some of the awkwardness finally dissipating.

"The balcony—you know I actually thought--"

"I know."

"I didn't mean--"

You reach forward to hug him, something you haven't done in a long time. You're not sure how he'll react but surprisingly, he doesn't push you away. He hugs you back lightly and you can't remember a time when you hugged Greg House and he didn't grab your ass or make some inappropriate, snarky comment.

You hold him for a moment and you feel his tense shoulders relax. You break away and kiss him quickly on his right cheek. You can tell he wasn't expecting it and he smiles at you when you lean back in your chair.

_House_

You stare back at Lisa Cuddy for a few seconds and admire her flawless face. You love the way she looks at you, you always have. She peeks over at the closed door for a second and then directs her gaze back to you.

"I guess I should go."

You want to ask her to stay longer but you don't; instead, you just nod. She gets up and starts for the door.

"Cuddy," you call out and she turns around quickly, as if she expected it. "You guys'll be back, right?" you ask sheepishly.

"Of course," she replies and walks out.

Wilson sticks his head in the doorway and tells you goodbye. You wave your hand at him carelessly.

The door slams behind him and you can't help but produce a huge, goofy grin on your face. There are so many things you want to say to Cuddy that will never be said. But it doesn't matter because she already knows. Somehow she knows you better than anyone.


End file.
